Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 06-26-2012, 11:38 AM   #1
4 Rivet Member
 
gecko's Avatar
 
2009 28' International
Pacific Palisades , California
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 436
Blog Entries: 1
Sprinter one-ton towing/non-towing hwy mpg?

We're going to replace our 2000 Suburban 3/4 ton (300hp@4800/355torque/3.73 differential) with a Sprinter one-ton (188hp@3800/325torque@1400rpm/4.12 differential) to tow our 28 ft Ocean Breeze (6100 dry/7300 max/6900usual weight) because Sprinter requires the one ton to tow anything up to 7500 lbs (the 1500 and 2500 are only rate to tow 5000, and more would void warranty even though transmission and engine are the same for all three models.) The Sprinter actually generates considerably more torque to the rear axle than the Suburban due to the taller differential.

Has anyone had any experience with the Sprinter 3500's towing this weight Airstream long term? Any transmission challenges? What kind of highway mileage should we expect towing? Highway mileage not towing? (65-70mph)

Thanks!
gecko is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-26-2012, 12:03 PM   #2
moderator
Commercial Member
 
Airslide's Avatar

 
2016 27' International
Currently Looking...
Wilton , California
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,711
Images: 50
Hi Gecko,

Lots of good information here on this other forum about sprinter.
Sprinter - Sprinter-Forum

Not sure I would attempt it.

Vinnie
__________________
"Old fashioned service on your late model Airstream"

https://www.facebook.com/VinniesNort...ir?ref=tn_tnmn
Airslide is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-26-2012, 04:38 PM   #3
Rivet Monster
 
wahoonc's Avatar

 
1975 31' Sovereign
1980 31' Excella II
Sprung Leak , North Carolina
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 7,172
Images: 40
There are a couple of people on here who tow regularly with the Sprinters. Smokey Joe and Lewster. Hopefully they will chime in shortly.

I have never towed with one, but I have driven both the box van and a Winnebago View a fair distance. My over the road mileage was routinely in the 20-22mpg range along the I-95 corridor which is fairly flat. I have a buddy that makes regular runs up the I-81 corridor between VA and PA. He reports 18-21mpg.

Aaron
__________________
....so many Airstreams....so little time...
WBCCI #XXXX AIR #2495
Why are we in this basket...and where are we going
wahoonc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-26-2012, 06:03 PM   #4
Rivet Master
Commercial Member
 
Vintage Kin Owner
Naples , Florida
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,508
Quote:
Originally Posted by gecko View Post
We're going to replace our 2000 Suburban 3/4 ton (300hp@4800/355torque/3.73 differential) with a Sprinter one-ton (188hp@3800/325torque@1400rpm/4.12 differential) to tow our 28 ft Ocean Breeze (6100 dry/7300 max/6900usual weight) because Sprinter requires the one ton to tow anything up to 7500 lbs (the 1500 and 2500 are only rate to tow 5000, and more would void warranty even though transmission and engine are the same for all three models.) The Sprinter actually generates considerably more torque to the rear axle than the Suburban due to the taller differential.

Has anyone had any experience with the Sprinter 3500's towing this weight Airstream long term? Any transmission challenges? What kind of highway mileage should we expect towing? Highway mileage not towing? (65-70mph)

Thanks!
Gecko,

I would NOT do it again!! Having towed a new '06 19CCD (that is considerably lighter than the specs of your stated trailer) with an '04 Sprinter 2500 and now owning an '11 Mercedes 2500 Sprinter, you are asking for a significant amount of problems towing a 6900 lb. trailer with a Sprinter........ANY Sprinter.

After towing the 19CCD (scale weight between 3800-4200 lbs.) for 4 years, I lost the turbo, alternator AND transmission in a 5 day period at 115,000 miles. No warranty of course! And this is after replacing the entire bottom end at 95,000 miles after the replacement harmonic balancer failed and took the keyway of the crank with it.

Am I towing anything with my new Sprinter???? NO! Will I, perhaps, but only until the extended warranty is up. The new V-6 diesel is far improved over the old inline 5, but the transmission is the same as in the old van. I would wait until the new 7-speed trans comes out in the '13-'14 Sprinter before even considering it!

Every person I have spoken to who has towed a significant weight trailer (and ALL were under 5K) has had either major engine or transmission problems.

Research it and be the judge. This is just one person's extended use report. And for mileage, a solid 20MPG loaded (around 8K on a regular basis) and 11-13 towing the 19CCD. This at 70-75 highway miles on cross-country trips between FL and OR. The new van gets between 16-19 loaded (8200 lbs) on cross-country trips. You need to be virtually empty to achieve over 20 with the V-6 and stay under 70 all the time! I've done it, but don't consider that 'real-world driving'.
__________________
lewster
Solar Tech Energy Systems, Inc.
Victron Solar Components and Inverters, Zamp Solar Panels, LiFeBlue and Battle Born Lithium Batteries, Lifeline AGM Batteries
lewster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2012, 06:07 AM   #5
Figment of My Imagination
 
Protagonist's Avatar
 
2012 Interstate Coach
From All Over , More Than Anywhere Else
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 10,868
Quote:
Originally Posted by lewster View Post
Research it and be the judge. This is just one person's extended use report. And for mileage, a solid 20MPG loaded (around 8K on a regular basis) and 11-13 towing the 19CCD. This at 70-75 highway miles on cross-country trips between FL and OR. The new van gets between 16-19 loaded (8200 lbs) on cross-country trips. You need to be virtually empty to achieve over 20 with the V-6 and stay under 70 all the time! I've done it, but don't consider that 'real-world driving'.
I'll second that. I haven't towed anything with my Interstate, which was a 3500 Sprinter before Airstream had their wicked way with it. On a trip from New Orleans to Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas, with a fair amount of elevation changes, I got 18.5 mpg at 50~55 on Scenic Byway 7 headed up, but a measly 16.5 mpg at 65~70 on I-40/US-65/I-55 on the way back. In the seven months I've owned my Interstate 3500, I have yet to see 20 mpg even once, though I do manage to top out at 19.2 mpg headed east/west along the Gulf Coast on flat terrain.
__________________
I thought getting old would take longer!
Protagonist is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2012, 10:27 AM   #6
4 Rivet Member
 
gecko's Avatar
 
2009 28' International
Pacific Palisades , California
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 436
Blog Entries: 1
Thanks for chiming in, everybody. Any more direct links to other people who have towed with Sprinters? Lewster, can you point us to any more comments, positive or negative?
gecko is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2012, 10:43 AM   #7
Rivet Master
Commercial Member
 
Vintage Kin Owner
Naples , Florida
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,508
I know that 'Smokeless Joe' on these Forums is using the 5 cylinder, 3500 Sprinter cab/rail chassis as his tow vehicle (towing his wonderfully renovated Argosy) while the Sprinter chassis is a flatbed for his Mini Cooper which rides piggy-back on the Sprinter. They are quite a sight as they are all painted black and Pepper White (Mini color) to match.

YOu might send him a PM and get his real-world experiences.
__________________
lewster
Solar Tech Energy Systems, Inc.
Victron Solar Components and Inverters, Zamp Solar Panels, LiFeBlue and Battle Born Lithium Batteries, Lifeline AGM Batteries
lewster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2012, 12:03 PM   #8
Rivet Master
 
SmokelessJoe's Avatar
 
1976 Argosy 24
now being enjoyed by Heath and Mary in , Vermont
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,432
Hello Gekco, this is Smokeless Joe chiming in...

My experience may not be real world enough to provide a devinitive answer to your questions as I bought the 2006 Mercedes Sprinter Cab and Chassis new, near the begining of my renewal of a 1976 Argosy, but never got out on the road until 4 years later. The truck still has less than 10,000 miles on it.

The first big trip I made was 173 days to 38 cities and towns the the US South. The figures are back in Toronto but I seem to recall the MPG average was something like 17.8 over the entire trip. This is everything combined, city and highway, with and without the trailer.

I may have had the advantage of Lewster warning me about his troubles. After he burned out his transmission he PM'd me recommending I buy an after cooler and an after market replacement for the turbo resonator. The original from the Dusseldorf, Germany factory was plastic and had a history of burning up, putting the truck into limp mode. Lewster went through 5 of them!

I bought the transmission cooler and aluminum resonator from the Sprinter Store in Portland, Oregon. Later, I bought the Scan Gauge II from them after reading about it on the Sprinter Forum. This was a simple 10 minute install that I did when I was in New Orleans at Christmas.

I consider this the best thing I've ever had for driving. Following the advice given on the Sprinter Forum, I try to keep the Percentage of Load (LOD) below 75% at all times, by shifting down.

I am very heavily loaded, running at 14,500 pounds combined when the truck is rated at 15,200. The only problem I have had is pulling up serious grades. On one steep mountain between Georgia and North Carolina I was slowed right down to 15 mph. I stopped the truck a couple of times, motor running in nuetral for a couple of minutes, to let things cool dow.

This week I am having installed a German made diesel power modual from Sprinter Store and two guages on the dash, transmision temperature and EGT. These I got from Geno's Garage in Cummings, Georgia on the recommendation of new friend Big Ed Moeller from South Carolina, whom I met at a rally in Georgia.

I guess I'm figuring that the hundreds of dollars spent here is preferable to the many thousands that will be spent after a burned out transmission.

If you have more ways to monitor your systems you can adapt your driving to limited or precvent damage.

Regretably, the Scan Guage cannot report the transmission temperature as Mercedes Benz will not share their proprietory codes with them.

About deciding on a truck, remember that you can read about failures with Ford, Dodge, GM and Chevy here too, maybe even more than Sprinters because there are more of them in use in North American.

Keep in mind too that the Sprinter is not a new thing. It is a time tested German engineered vehicle, perhaps the most widley sold in the world with well over a million units sold in 130 countries. You can see this evry night on the news from the hot spots of the world, Sprinters in use by police, ambulances and other emergency workers.

Sergei

Send from the road on my iPad; please excuse the typos
SmokelessJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2012, 11:01 AM   #9
4 Rivet Member
 
gecko's Avatar
 
2009 28' International
Pacific Palisades , California
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 436
Blog Entries: 1
Thanks Lewster and Sergei

Sergei, the info is very helpful. How much does your Argosy weigh? We're 6100 dry, 7300 max, and tow at about 6900 lbs. It sounds like when you were slowed to 15 mph on that steep grade, the transmission when into safety mode, if MB has such a thing. That happened to us once with our Suburban towing up a prolonged steep grade in New Mexico.

We are perfectly willing to slow going up steep grades in the summer with the Sprinter 3500, but for safety sake, we want to be able to hold preferably 50mph and at least 40mph.

As far as the plastic parts, my understanding is that Mercedes upgraded these sometime after the 2006 model year--is that correct?

From a handling standpoint, the 3500 seems every bit as solid as our suburban 2500. The suburban's torque of 355 coupled to 3.73 diff actually yields a little less to the rear wheels than the Sprinter's 325 with the 4.11. But the horsepower of 300 compared to the MB's 188 even with the differential advantage, is not close. So our concerns are:

• Is there enough torque/hp to hold to at least 40 and hopefully 50 on sustained 7% grades in summer heat towing 6900 lbs of Airstream?

• Is the transmission strong enough to go 100,000+ miles (about 15k miles per year, towing 35% of the time)? (We will change transmission fluid every year regardless of mileage, as we do for the Suburban)

• Is the 6 cyl diesel strong enough to last for 150k plus miles with this kind of load? We are not abusive in driving, working hard to get good mileage, and trying very hard not to punish the engine and transmission. We change oil every 3k miles regardless of manufacture's schedule, and transmission fluid annually regardless of miles driven.

• ScanGauge sounds like a great idea--I can't imagine towing without the Suburban's standard transmission temp gauge--but I've heard that it voids the warranty, which seems like a big no-no. So ironically, it seems like something to add AFTER a transmission failure and after we're off warranty.

We love everything else about the Sprinter, and think it's a perfect complement to the Airstream, with the volume interior we need for our lightweight but voluminous sports equipment (we'll be carrying no more than 500 lbs in addition to driver and passenger in the Sprinter). We've heard of an Interstate 144" 2500 towing a 34' classic across the mountains in Eastern Canada, and being able to hold 85 kph (53mph) up 8% slopes. Not a load I would tow with any Sprinter, personally, but this is a reputable source.

Thanks again for your help. And I hope others will chime in, too.
gecko is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2012, 03:30 PM   #10
Rivet Master
 
SmokelessJoe's Avatar
 
1976 Argosy 24
now being enjoyed by Heath and Mary in , Vermont
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,432
The trailer runs around the 5000 pound mark.

I don't know if the truck slowed to 15 mph because a safety overrode it. I don't think so though. I was just unwilling to exceed the 75 % of load mark and the heavily loaded truck maybe just didn't have the juice. Neither did I have any way to know the transmission fluid or exhaust gas temperatures so I opted just to stop my pull for a couple of minutes.

As I write, the power module and gauges are being installed in a nearby town. In a week or so I'll head out for a summer in Newfoundland. We'll see if the driving experiences will be different on that trip.

My heavy load means that I don't have any jack rabbit get a ways. It takes me a little while to get up to speed too. That doesn't bother me a bit. I am not one that subscribes to the the notion of needing to enter freeways at speed or keep up with traffic. I mostly follow the posted speeds and they are mostly 55 mph for trucks in your country, if I remember.

Logic and observation tells us that speed kills, not driving carefully to conditions. Ask any cop about that.

I often see big trucks low gearing their way uphill and I have no desire to prove anything to anyone by whisking by them.

I don't know if the turbo resonator has been changed in more recent models. You can probably find out on the Sprinter Forum. Or maybe Lewster knows. The Sprinter Store in Oregon will know for sure. John, the guy that owns the place, answers his emails. I've even talked to him on the phone. He will know.

About your several other questions I don't know the answers. If the story you were told about the Interstate towing a trailer in Eastern Canada is true that can provide a kind of answer.

There are lots of morhome conversions on Sprinters out there; hundreds if not thousands. They must be heavy as well.

You started the thread by saying you are buying a Sprinter so most of your questions are probably just second guessing yourself. Maybe time to listen to Steve Jobs who once said " Don't let your inner voice be drowned out by the opinions of others."

Sergei, still trying to type on the iPad.
SmokelessJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2012, 04:06 PM   #11
3 Rivet Member
 
Currently Looking...
Austin , Texas
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 213
Lew,

You mentioned waiting until the new 7-speed trans come out about a year from now. My understanding is the new 7-speed is paired with a 4 cylinder diesel with twin turbos. The 4 cylinder will have more hp and torque than the current 6 cylinder diesel. The current diesel with the existing 5 speed will still be available as an option.

I wonder if the 4 cylinder will do the job?

Barry
pattonsr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-28-2012, 06:36 PM   #12
Rivet Master
Commercial Member
 
Vintage Kin Owner
Naples , Florida
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 7,508
Quote:
Originally Posted by pattonsr View Post
Lew,

You mentioned waiting until the new 7-speed trans come out about a year from now. My understanding is the new 7-speed is paired with a 4 cylinder diesel with twin turbos. The 4 cylinder will have more hp and torque than the current 6 cylinder diesel. The current diesel with the existing 5 speed will still be available as an option.

I wonder if the 4 cylinder will do the job?

Barry
My dealer didn't mention the twin turbo set-up, but if it has more HP and torque, why not? After all, all of the large, hi-HP diesels from Cummins, Detroit and Mercedes used in Class 8 and 9 over the road trucking are 6's, so a large 4 with the added boost of twin turbos should do the job nicely in the Sprinter. Problem with the current 5-speed trans is that it a slush-box and IMHO, the weak link in an otherwise very nice package. I wish they would offer the 6-speed manual that is available in Europe!

Plus, Ford is bring their Euro large Transit van to the US with a bunch of configuration possibilities as an eventual replacement for the E-series vans. Should be interesting to see how Mercedes responds.
__________________
lewster
Solar Tech Energy Systems, Inc.
Victron Solar Components and Inverters, Zamp Solar Panels, LiFeBlue and Battle Born Lithium Batteries, Lifeline AGM Batteries
lewster is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-20-2012, 01:07 PM   #13
1 Rivet Member
 
2013 Interstate Coach
Milton , Florida
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 12
My experience:

2013 Interstate Coach, fresh water and propane tanks full, loaded with approx 300 lbs of gear.

MPG @ 60 mph highway = 21.5
MPG @ 60 mph highway with 5 x 10 v-nose empty enclosed trailer = 15.5
gastockman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2012, 03:05 PM   #14
3 Rivet Member
 
hamiltonmj's Avatar
 
Currently Looking...
2013 Interstate Coach
Opelika , Alabama
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 114
Question Sprinter vs GMC

Interesting discussion. I'm thinking of selling my GMC 2500 HD diesel and buying a pre dpf Sprinter to pull my 19' Airstream. The problem we have is our travelling companions that go with us to Scottish support events. We don't want to leave them in the campground in the trailer all day so we take them with us when allowed. Ideally we drive to an event, park the bambi in the campground and drive the Sprinter to the event. fire up the A/C and visit the pets during the day making sure they get their breaks along with ours. Saw the new gas Chevy Airstreams at Alumapalooza...then again I think that it would be easier to fix the GMC than the Sprinter...thoughts?
__________________
Mike Hamilton
WBCCI # 2766
2013 Airstream Interstate (Darth Vader)
1965 17' Caravel (R2D2)
hamiltonmj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2012, 11:16 PM   #15
4 Rivet Member
 
gecko's Avatar
 
2009 28' International
Pacific Palisades , California
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 436
Blog Entries: 1
We've thrown the dice

Thanks everyone for your input. After more research with Sorinter owners outside of this forum, we ordered a one-ton (required by factory to tow up to 7500 lbs) and will take delivery next month and then upfit. We will set our equalizer 4 point and do our first test tow after we put 1000 break in miles. Tge first long trip will be Los Angeles to Corpus Christi mid March. We'll keep to all posted periodically.

The final kicker for us was when a friend who is a long time advocate of Ford trucks reported major breakdown with the engine of his new F-250 with less than 30K miles. We understand that there are always exceptions, but hope that we will be fortunate enough to share in the positive, rather than negative, experiences mentioned here.

It has been particularly helpful to learn from y'all what might have caused problems should we experience them.
gecko is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2012, 12:57 PM   #16
4 Rivet Member
 
gecko's Avatar
 
2009 28' International
Pacific Palisades , California
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 436
Blog Entries: 1
Seems like you have a couple of questions. First of all, does your Bambi weigh under 5,000# loaded? Mercedes doesn't want you to tow over 5000# except with a one ton (3500), which is why we bought one. The engine and transmission are the same, although the standard differential is 4.1 instead of the standard 3.9 on the 2500, but the 3.9 is still available. The one ton is a also a dually, and the combination of the extra drag and the taller rear end make for worse mileage--our sales guy estimated 3-4 mpg worse, non-towing. But we were able to special order the low roof, and we're hoping that the lower profile will help--it's a full 12 inches lower than the standard hi-roof. And because we're windsurfers, we're always driving to areas with high wind, so we're hoping the lower profile (and shorter length, too) will help with crosswinds, too. But we have several windsurfing friends with 170" wheelbase and high roof models who say they have no problem in 40 knot crosswinds (San Francisco and Hood River, OR). I'll believe that when I (don't) feel it!

Your next question seems pretty straightforward, and our experience was that it was always easy to find repair help for our chevy Suburban 2500, and we expect it to be more complicated to do so for the Sprinter. So you need to look at where you travel, and we need others to chime in as to their experiences with ease of finding repair help in the boondocks for Sprinters...

Not clear from your post--are you thinking of buying an Airstream Sprinter or Chevy to tow the Bambi? I do know that Andy Thompson (the Toronto Airstream dealer and towing expert whose column we all enjoy in "Airstream Life") has towed a 34' (!!!!!) Airstream over the Eastern Canadian mountains with an Airstream based on the Sprinter 2500 platform, and found it quite comfortable. But this is NOT the long term experience that the rest of us civilians will have with a tow vehicle that we keep for a decade!
gecko is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-30-2012, 08:33 PM   #17
Rivet Master
 
SmokelessJoe's Avatar
 
1976 Argosy 24
now being enjoyed by Heath and Mary in , Vermont
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,432
Here's some more real world experience:


My trip to Newfoundland and back to Ontario this summer was 93 days out on the road, 5314 miles

The average mileage was 18.32 overall. This is city and country, loaded and unloaded, day 1 to day 93.

Keep in mind that I am very heavily loaded (14,500 lbs) and that most of the trip was on constantly changing elevations. Much of it, like in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Maine, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, of course, included serious grades.

(Keep in mind too that the Canadian gallon is larger than the US so higher miles per gallon readings here. 1 Canadian gallon = 1.2 US or 1 Cdn MPG= 0.8327 US mpg).

I may as well add some more real world stats while I'm at it:

The MPG figure equates to 31.5 cents a mile.

I stayed 51 nights in public or private campgrounds and 42 nights roadside, gypsy style.

The average cost for a park night was $36.69. The free gypsy nights brought the average daily cost for accommodation down to $20.12.

Diesel, for heating and cooking in the diesel powered trailer averaged .84 cents a day. Fuel for the generator cost $5.55 per gypsy night, including morning espresso making.

Life on the road is inexpensive, a bargain if you don’t count the up front equipment cost. This trip cost $45.08 a day with out food- everything else counted: fuels, parks, road tolls, etc.

Sergei


Click image for larger version

Name:	Sunset Grant.jpg
Views:	465
Size:	130.1 KB
ID:	175599
SmokelessJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-31-2012, 09:21 AM   #18
4 Rivet Member
 
gecko's Avatar
 
2009 28' International
Pacific Palisades , California
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 436
Blog Entries: 1
Quote:
Originally Posted by SmokelessJoe View Post
Here's some more real world experience:


My trip to Newfoundland and back to Ontario this summer was 93 days out on the road, 5314 miles

The average mileage was 18.32 overall. This is city and country, loaded and unloaded, day 1 to day 93.

Keep in mind that I am very heavily loaded (14,500 lbs) and that most of the trip was on constantly changing elevations. Much of it, like in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Maine, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, of course, included serious grades.

(Keep in mind too that the Canadian gallon is larger than the US so higher miles per gallon readings here. 1 Canadian gallon = 1.2 US or 1 Cdn MPG= 0.8327 US mpg).

I may as well add some more real world stats while I'm at it:

The MPG figure equates to 31.5 cents a mile.

I stayed 51 nights in public or private campgrounds and 42 nights roadside, gypsy style.

The average cost for a park night was $36.69. The free gypsy nights brought the average daily cost for accommodation down to $20.12.

Diesel, for heating and cooking in the diesel powered trailer averaged .84 cents a day. Fuel for the generator cost $5.55 per gypsy night, including morning espresso making.

Life on the road is inexpensive, a bargain if you don’t count the up front equipment cost. This trip cost $45.08 a day with out food- everything else counted: fuels, parks, road tolls, etc.

Sergei


Attachment 175599
Thanks, Sergei.

Are you towing with a 3500 or a 2500? We're you towing all the time, or sometimes parked the Argosy and went off with the Sprinter separately?

Looks like the mpg based on US gallon would be about 20% lower, around 16.5 mpg.

What was the most difficult grade, and what speed were you able to hold? In what gear?
gecko is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-02-2014, 10:57 PM   #19
4 Rivet Member
 
gecko's Avatar
 
2009 28' International
Pacific Palisades , California
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 436
Blog Entries: 1
Sprinter One-Ton Towing Update

As promised, we're getting back after replacing our 3/4 ton 2000 Suburban with a 2013 Sprinter 3500. Currently 23,000 miles--about 50% towing mileage. Towing a 2010 28' international Ocean Breeze with extra batteries (4 total, all forward).

We find the Sprinter so far to be an excellent tow vehicle. With the same Equalizr 4 pt we used with the Suburban, my wife feels that the Sprinter actually feels more solid on the road than the Suburban. It has ample torque to pull our approx 7000 lb loaded coach up the steepest hills (7%), but we find it "happier" to go uphill in third if we're able to hit the bottom of the incline at speed, or 2nd at a lower speed with flashers if we drop to 45 or below for an extended pull. There is no transmission temp gauge (which sucks), but we carefully watch the heat gauge to make sure it doesn't go over225, which is what Mercedes and Freightline say is OK. So far, this has not been an issue. On the steepest grades, we definitely go slower so as to use the lower gears and take some load of the turbo (although it's obviously still firing.) Unlike the Suburban, the temperature drops to normal in a very short period--sometimes even as we approach the crest. Engine braking downhaul is excellent, as are the brakes--at our latest inspection at 22,500 miles, the Portland Freightliner service department tells us that we still have somewhere between 90 and 95% of our brakes left.

Mileage while towing in our (rare) short wheel base and shortest height Sprinter 3500 varies from Suburban-like 10mpg up the steepest hills and 14.5 mpg in no wind at 55 mph on more level terrain. Vehicle actually seems 'happiest' on gently rolling hills on back road highways with no traffic where you can "hyper-mileage" drive by accelerating downhill to 55 or 60 and easing off the accelerator progressively from about 20% up the incline until just after the crest. We were also able to obtain 14+ mpg here--the Sprinter is extremely sensitive to air resistance of any kind, whether caused by vehicle speed or winds from any direction except directly from behind. MPG decreases dramatically with speed--in Texas, the speed limit for towed vehicles is 80 mph, and although the towing combination feels extremely stable at this speed, the mpg will drop about .5-.75 mpg for every 5 mph over 55.

My theory is that the vehicle's stabilization program, even in a light crosswind, is constantly firing each of the four brakes gently to maintain balance, and this adds to the natural drag of the vehicle, its duallies, and the higher ratio differential, in the presence of even light breezes. The mileage drops severely in stronger crosswinds (and of course in headwinds.)

It's too soon to tell whether we'll encounter and transmission or turbo problems down the line. We intend to do a transmission flush (quite expensive, I've been advised) at 30,000 miles instead of the recommended 40,000, and at that time, we may get some feedback as to whether the transmission wear seems normal or excessive.

Non towing mileage has been fair--about 19.5 at moderate highway speeds (55-65), although we've seen much worse at higher speeds and/or windy conditions. Our best tanks of fuel have been as high as 21 and one 22 mpg load, but these are rare and only under ideal conditions (55-60, no significant uphills, zero breeze or a tailwind.) But way better than our 2000 Suburban, and the storage for our windsurfing equipment inside bears no comparison!

Hope this is helpful.
gecko is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Towing a 25ft Airstream down Hwy 1 Maggiefoss On The Road... 27 03-30-2013 10:39 PM
Airstream Parkway Mercedes Sprinter 5 cyl diesel with 22 MPG eBay Watch Airstreams on eBay 0 11-25-2011 10:10 AM
towing a 31ft 1970 sovereign with a 1994 one ton dodge Beverly II Tow Vehicles 7 04-19-2010 09:38 PM
1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton towing? subfan1 Tow Vehicles 7 12-13-2007 03:10 PM
Big 3 1/2 Ton vs 3/4 Ton Trucks Streamer1 Tow Vehicles 40 11-20-2007 10:13 PM


Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Airstream, Inc. or any of its affiliates. Airstream is a registered trademark of Airstream Inc. All rights reserved. Airstream trademark used under license to Social Knowledge LLC.



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:34 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.